Top 7 Easy Modern Landscaping Plants for an Awesome Backyard

While some people prefer more traditional types of plants for their garden landscape, others like to experiment with all kinds of modern plants and edgy decorations. If you’re part of the latter category, you’re going to enjoy today’s article. We thought we’d create a list of 7 modern landscaping plants that you can grow in your garden or backyard. They’re guaranteed to provide your landscape with a unique and captivating look.

7 Modern Landscaping Plants You Should Consider for Your Garden

1. Blue Fescue

How many times does one get to grow a blue plant in their garden? Not that many. This type of ornamental grass has a wiry look to it, with thin and long leaves. It’s an evergreen, which means you’ll be able to enjoy it season in and season out, and it’s also low-maintenance. You can grow it in many types of climate, as long as you manage to provide it with a sunny location. It makes for an excellent accent plant that you can grow in rockeries, borders, or containers.

There’s more than one type of blue fescue grass that you can choose from. There’s the regular one (Festuca glauca), but also the large one (Festuca amethystine), which is hardier than the former. You can also choose a cultivar, such as the Elijah blue or the golden colored grass. Remember that even if blue fescue is an evergreen, it still sheds part of the old blades. This is only to grow fresh ones with an ever deeper blue shade to them. You can eliminate the old leaves by simply combing them out using your fingers. You can find blue fescue seeds right here.

2. Yucca

Even though typically grown indoors, yucca can be an amazing addition to the garden as well. This evergreen shrub is perfect for hot climates since it can resist droughts pretty well. You can grow it in full sun without worrying it might get scorched. All it requires to thrive is a well-draining soil. When it comes to temperatures, the yucca is also extremely resistant, being able to stand a temperature of 10 degrees Fahrenheit quite easily.

The look of this plant is what makes it stand out the most. First of all, it has leaves shaped like swords, which is not something you see that often. Second of all, it also grows beautiful blooms, which is an amazing added benefit. The flowers are creamy-white and they bloom in mid to late summer. If you want to grow the yucca plant for its flowers, we advise you to plant it in a place where it gets full sun. Sunlight helps with flower development a lot. Here‘s where you can order some yucca seeds.

3. Hosta

The hosta is a favorite of many gardeners who are looking for a low-maintenance yet unique plant to grow in their garden. It grows a lush foliage without you having to put a lot of effort into caring for it. The great thing about the hosta is that you can find thousands of cultivars that vary in size, texture, shape, and so on. For instance, you could grow just hosta varieties in your garden and have it look as if they’re completely different types of plants.

However, you have to remember that not all hosta varieties have a modern look to them. Since today’s article is all about modern landscaping plants, allow us to recommend the “Abiqua Drinking Gourd” variety. It has huge blue-green foliage, it’s heavily textured, and its leaves are shaped like a cup. Due to this unusual shape, this hosta variety puts on a real show when it rains. The water collects into the cup-shaped leaves and intensifies their color, as well as adding sparkle to it. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy having in your garden, the “Abiqua Drinking Gourd” is the right plant for you. You can buy a potted one here.

4. Kangaroo Paws

There are two things that make the kangaroo paws plant one of our favorite modern landscaping plants: its color variety and the shape of its blooms. It comes in a large variety of colors (red, orange, yellow, black), so you’ll definitely find one you like among the several options. Moreover, the kangaroo paws flowers are shaped, you guessed it, like kangaroo paws. Interestingly enough, they also occur naturally in Australia. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t grow them in the U.S.

In order to make sure they develop properly, you have to live in a USDA zone 9 or grow them inside in a container. Since it has tropical origins, they’ll freeze outside if you keep them there in the winter. In terms of soil preferences, there are multiple options that work for kangaroo paws. The ideal soil would be a slightly acidic one that drains well, and where the plant can get plenty of sun exposure. Kangaroo paws tend to grow like grass, in clumps, so they’re great for planting in accent borders. They also make gorgeous cut flowers, so don’t hesitate to decorate your home with them as well. You can purchase some kangaroo paws seeds here.

5. New Zealand Flax

If you’re interested in modern landscaping plants that provide texture, form, and color, you’re going to love the New Zealand flax. It has long sword-like leaves that have a leathery texture and holds straight no matter the conditions. Its name comes from the look and feel of the leaves, which were used in the past in the manufacturing of textiles and baskets. This plant is quite popular in the U.S., especially in the USDA zone 8, where it grows most successfully.

You can include them in perennial gardens, turn them into accent plants, and even grow them in containers. They can reach an impressive height of 20 feet if you take care of them properly. Keep in mind that you can choose among many New Zealand flax varieties, each of them with a different foliage color. Choices range from red to burgundy, yellow, purple, green, maroon, and others. If you live in a warm climate, this plant will thrive almost by itself. Just remember to bring it inside in the winter, since it isn’t a big fan of cold weather. Here‘s where you can buy seeds to plant in your garden.

6. Aeonium

Are you a fan of succulents? Why not try a new type of succulent that will provide your garden with a spectacular look? We’re talking about the aeonium plant, which is a low-growing fleshy-leaved succulent that grows in round rosettes. Due to its shape and texture, it often looks like a sculpture, which is one of the reasons why it’s one of the most spectacular modern landscape plants in today’s guide. The good news is that you can grow it both indoors and outdoors. However, you have to beware of frost damaging it. While it can thrive in drier areas due to its tolerance to droughts, it isn’t at all frost resistant.

If you’re wondering what makes aeoniums so resistant to droughts, it’s their fleshy leaves. They store water and feed it to the plant. Even so, aeoniums differ from most succulents in that their root system is quite shallow. This means you can’t allow your plant to dry out completely if you don’t want it to get damaged. Other than that, this plant is strong enough to grow without much assistance from you. We recommend planting it next to other types of succulents for a beautiful succulent display. You can buy different types of potted aeoniums here.

7. Swiss Cheese Plant

The last addition to today’s modern landscaping plants list has an interesting name and an even more interesting look. Depending on where you grow it, it can become two different things. In colder climates in the North, it’s a houseplant, while in warmer southern climates it’s a robust vine. The most interesting thing about this plant is its leaves, which are deeply split and contain perforations. It also blooms, but its main attraction remains the dark-green foliage. Depending on the variety you choose, the leaves can also contain splashes of yellow or white markings.

The reason why the leaves of the Swiss cheese plant are so unique is that it originated in South America, more precisely in the rainforest. Due to the heavy downpours and strong winds there, it had to adapt its leaves so that they won’t get broken. Nowadays, people grow it mostly in containers inside, but some also grow it outside. Keep in mind that it can grow quite large and tall, which means it will become the focal point of your home/garden. When it comes to maintenance, try to avoid placing it in direct sunlight, water it only when the soil dries off, and provide it with fertilizer once a month. If you’re looking for a Swiss cheese plant to transplant in your garden, here‘s where you can buy one.

Everything Summed Up

If you’re tired of the typical landscaping plants you can find in most gardens, we hope you’ve enjoyed today’s guide to 7 of the most beautiful and interesting modern landscaping plants. Each of the options we’ve presented you with above is unique in its own way. As a result, they’ll all bring something new to your garden. All you have to do is take good care of them and make sure no pests or diseases affect them. As long as you do that, these modern landscaping plants will reward you with beautiful foliage, gorgeous flowers, and a lovely textured landscaping design.

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I spend my time in my garden trying to create the greatest outdoor space possible. My garden is my happy place and where you will always find me on a nice day. I take my experience and share it here for you to read!

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I am the managing editor here at Everything Backyard. I love all things design, including interior and landscape design. In my spare time, you can find me sitting outside reading a good book or working on my own DIY projects.

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